Divorced, beheaded, and once again: live. Six, the musical that puts Henry VIII's wives center stage with the pop star treatment, resumes performances in London December 5 following its extended closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. Performances are currently scheduled at the Lyric Theatre through April 18, 2021. Plans are in place for it to subsequently relocate to the Arts Theatre, its original West End home.
While some plays in the U.K. have begun to welcome back socially distanced audiences at indoor venues, Six is among the first large-scale musicals to do so. A staged concert version of Les Misérables also begins a West End engagement this weekend, with Everybody's Talking About Jamie on deck for a December 12 reopening.
The Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss musical will play nine performances a week, with capacity reduced to 50 percent; other safety measures include face coverings for staff and audiences, track and trace procedures, contactless tickets, and routine sanitation of the venue.
The company includes Jarnéia Richard-Noel of Catherine of Aragon, Courtney Bowman as Anne Boleyn, Natalie Paris as Jane Seymour, Alexia McIntosh as Anna of Cleves, Sophie Isaacs as Catherine Howard, and Danielle Steers as Catherine Parr, along with alternates/understudies Zara Macintosh, Cherelle Jay, Hana Stewart, and Collette Guitart.
After originating at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, Six headed to London, going on to earn five Olivier Award nominations. The musical began previews on Broadway February 13, but was hours short of its official opening night March 12 when the New York shutdown brought all productions to a standstill, with the U.K. and other engagements around the world following suit shortly after.